# What do they call a footlong in France? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [August 23, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421 "2025-08-23T23:21:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/1 "2025-08-23T23:21:40Z")
The BMT is still the BMT but it’s “Le BMT”. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/2 "2025-08-23T23:28:49Z")
A Royale with Bread. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2025, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/3 "2025-08-23T23:54:07Z")
Un trente centimètres? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/4 "2025-08-24T00:53:21Z")
Sorry, I googled, but what does BMT stand for? Is it a footlong something? ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/5 "2025-08-24T01:13:17Z")
It is a popular Subway sandwich, basically an Italian sub. No one knows what it stands for. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/6 "2025-08-24T01:56:26Z")
Subway Restaurants _used_ to be have NYC subway maps as wallpaper and BMT ([Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn%25E2%2580%2593Manhattan_Transit_Corporation)) was part of what became the NYC subway system. So the Subway sandwich of the same name is suggestive of that. (Though a Google search suggests the name means “Biggest, Meatiest, Tastiest.” I think that’s either a backronym or a retronym.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/7 "2025-08-24T02:15:10Z")
I thought I remember seeing “big, meaty, and tasty” on the menus once upon a time, but I do see “biggest, meatiest, tastiest” which is odd, as it’s none of those as far as Subway sandwiches go (though the last one might be arguable, as it is my standard Subway order. The other two are objectively false.) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/8 "2025-08-24T05:30:07Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Un trente centimètres? I just Googled on this question and it said that indeed it is called something like that. It’s called a “Sub 30” because it’s thirty centimeters long. A half-foot long is called a “Sub 15”. I did another Google. It said that submarine sandwiches in the U.S. were not ultimately based on French baguettes. They were probably based on similar sandwiches sold in Italian-American restaurants which mostly sold pizzas. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/9 "2025-08-24T07:00:40Z")
**digs** wrote: > Sorry, I googled, but what does BMT stand for? Is it a footlong something? I always assumed it was Bacon, Mayonnaise and Tomato but never actually ordered it. Ignorance fought, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/10 "2025-08-24T12:33:13Z")
The French might call a foot long loaf a batard. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/11 "2025-08-24T12:35:40Z")
In Quebec, they say “12 pouces” (12 inches). ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/12 "2025-08-24T16:34:15Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I just Googled on this question and it said that indeed it is called something like that. It’s called a “Sub 30” I like it! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/13 "2025-08-24T16:40:51Z")
The more important question is who is living in or visiting France and decides to eat at a Subway restaurant rather than something local and probably far better? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/14 "2025-08-24T16:45:23Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > No one knows what it stands for. I think I remember a time where they tried to call the Cold Cut Combo a CCC and I wonder if that’s another mass transit thing. They later renamed this sandwich Cold Cut Trio, probably because ‘combo’ has come to mean with chips & drink. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/15 "2025-08-24T17:39:38Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > It is a popular Subway sandwich, basically an Italian sub. No one knows what it stands for. It’s bacon, mutton, and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean and the tomato is ripe. They’re so perky, I love that. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/16 "2025-08-24T18:11:20Z")
I saw “Footlong” and thought hot dog, not subway sammich. We just say Subway sandwich. I’m not sure I ever met someone who ordered the 6in sandwich on purpose. Kind of a waste of cash. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/17 "2025-08-24T18:59:53Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The more important question is who is living in or visiting France and decides to eat at a Subway restaurant rather than something local and probably far better? I mean, America has our share of good local restaurants, too. People everywhere value convenience sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/18 "2025-08-25T16:37:23Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’m not sure I ever met someone who ordered the 6in sandwich on purpose. Kind of a waste of cash. I just did. The “Five Dolla Footlooong” is long gone. But it was over 7” long. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/19 "2025-08-25T16:46:49Z")
What do they call a footlong in France? Respectable. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2025, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421/20 "2025-08-25T17:09:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The more important question is who is living in or visiting France and decides to eat at a Subway restaurant rather than something local and probably far better? Where else in France can you get a turkey sandwich with cucumbers, green peppers and extra mustard? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-they-call-a-footlong-in-france/1022421.md?page=2)